New PC games that don't require Steam

[Fried Egg]

Can anyone recommend games that you can run without having Steam?

I ask because my internet connection is so slow that Steam is unusable. The last game I purchased, "Company of Heroes 2" required steam so I installed it. When I tried to run the game it started doing an endless update through steam which I could not avoid. I left it running but had no idea of progress and it didn't finish after leaving it going for hours. I had no idea whether, when starting it going again the next day, it continued from where it left off or just started again. Eventually I got fed up and just uninstalled both the game and Steam.

So basically, I'm looking for good, recent PC games that don't require Steam (or probably any similar such service). I tend to prefer strategy games...

 

[Kytaari]

Just learn to use DOSBox or something. That's what I do.

 

[Mad Alice]

Just learn to use DOSBox or something. That's what I do.

Used to play Lord of the Rings on DOS when I was young.
Got killed by the dragon every time until my cat slept on the keyboard and the dragon disappeared from the game.

Most multi player games now are played online without downloads. But they use up a big chunk of data.

The user on this board has a solution for you.

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=386483



I will NEVER endorse piracy. It's theft pure and simple, but I also hate 3rd party DRM software that is required to run all the modern AAA titles, so ...

Buy your game legitimately, then hop over to gamecopyworld for DRM free executables. Replace the game's official exe with the one you download, then move the game folder out of the Steam\SteamApps\common folder to wherever you want it and run the game from there.

You can then uninstall Steam altogether and play the game the way it should be played without any crap 3rd party software

 

[Fried Egg]

Thanks for the suggestions. Our internet is so diabolical that I just need to be able to install a game and have done with it.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Whilst mine isn't quite that bad (and I'm a console gamer, so it's patches/updates rather than straight downloads) I do sympathise. I really dislike the way day 1 patches seem to becoming normal. If you have no, slow or often disrupted internet, a game that doesn't work from the disc and needs a patch to be playable is worthless.

 

[hopewrites]

I like League of Legends. MultiPlayer, so I don't know how helpful that is as a suggestion for off-line gaming. But the battles are short (15-30min typically) and that's the only heavy data usage the game has. Rts with leveling in battle, and out. Successfully fulfilling your part in the battles (win or lose) earns your account xp which unlocks options to tweak your starting stats.
More strategic than rpg, which is a real departure for me from what I usually like.
The game can be played fairly and enjoyed immensely for free, though if your impatient to unlock all the characters and runes that aid them you can purchase points to spend. (To be fair, the different skins available for characters can't be earned. But not having them doesn't effect game play.) You still have to battle your way up through the xp brackets, so having more characters sooner doesn't give that much of an advantage. (Less likely someone will Lock In the character you planned on playing is all. And only if your planning on one who isn't in the Try for Free rotation that week)

the more battles you play the more points you earn (in addition to xp) to spend on characters and runes. I've had my account about two weeks, it's up to lvl 10, with three characters and the runes to support them and I'm saving plenty of points to upgrade those runes when I hit lvl 30 (stated lvl cap is 30, but that's just where everything is unlocked. From there it's experience brackets Bronze, Silver, ect. So you don't go against someone who spends all day at the game if your a once in awhile player. Keeps things fairly matched so the game stays fun.)

 

[Culhwch]

I'm afraid it's just going to get more and more to find games not run through a platform like Steam, Origin or Uplay. I don't remember the last game I bought (even physically) that didn't run through one of those. I don't have a problem with them, but then my internet connection is fine - not great, mind, but adequate.

Your best bet might be to hit up the bargain bins at games stores for old titles that pre-date those services, but even that is going to be difficult.

 

[steelyglint]

Might as well put forward the best non-steam FPS survival game, even though you're probably aware of it, and if you're not you ought to be. Though 'FPS survival game' hardly describes it at all.

It is based partly on Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's 'Roadside Picnic', but also takes in the Chernobyl exclusion zone and various SF ideas. The storyline is pretty good and has a prequel and a sequel, along with thousands of player-made mods, total conversions and at least one other stand-alone game that uses the same resources but changes the 'Zone' and the storyline hugely.

The game is, of course, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. The prequel is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky. The sequel is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat. That's the order they should be played in if you want the story to make sense.

Some of the mods are vast and their extended storylines offer hundreds of hours of gameplay - one or two running into thousands. 'Narodnaya Soljanka', a Russian-made mod (means 'Peoples' Soup' or similar), has one 'side-quest', among many, that is about as long as the original SoC vanilla game.

WARNING: These games are about as addictive as a crack-cocaine sandwich washed down with heroin whiskey and followed by chain-smoking 50 Capstan Full Strength every day for a month. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games have the same effect with a few hours gameplay. You have been warned.

I should add that they can be added to Steam, but if you buy the retail disc copies and have dumped Steam you should be fine. Works for me.

.

 

[Overread]

I generally leave the computer running overnight/when out if I've got a big download to make on Steam. Finding games that don't require it is going to be tricky these days as most developers want to get on Steam. Regular updates and day one patches are generally a good thing (it normally - when done right - is simply dealing with faults that slipped through testing due to the vast amount of PC configurations out there in todays market); but yes it can be annoying.

You will likely be avoiding anything like League of Legends or World of Tanks as they are online only games and thus require an active internet connection to play and work with.


Your best bet is to head over to GOG http://www.gog.com
They sell DRM free games there and they come as an exe. One download and your'e done - no patches, no interface, no need for an internet connection and no steam store activation code (some stores just give activation codes these days as many games are tied into steam itself). If an update comes out a new exe is put up/patch is put up and you can choose to download it if you want.
GOG also gets and patches a lot of older games to work on modern OS systems (GOG Basically means Good Old Games though they are releasing modern titles now as well).

 

[Foxbat]

If you like strategy games, I'd recommend you look at http://www.slitherine.com/
http://www.matrixgames.com/ or http://www.ageod.com/

These are all companies that are owned by Slitherine and deal in strategy of varying degrees (some are real hardcore). You can purchase either digital download or order a disc (which might be better for your problem).

Caution - many of these games are not cheap (although they do have the odd sale).

Over at GOG - Xenonauts is definitely worth a look.

 

[Overread]

The only downside to Slitherine games in my view is that they often have some - gaps. Skirmish modes are often missing though you do get a good number of scenarios and they often do bundle in ta map making tool to the game.

The company also tends to be the kind that targets the upper end of the market; sales do happen but they are fewer than some others.

 

[Edward M. Grant]

Yeah, if you want recent games, GoG is probably the place to go. Many companies release their games Steam-free on GoG, though you lose achievements and other odds and ends that rely on Steam to work... you may also have to wait a while before they show up, as they want to make their money on Steam before releasing a DRM-free version.

 

[SilentRoamer]

I will NEVER endorse piracy. It's theft pure and simple, but I also hate 3rd party DRM software that is required to run all the modern AAA titles, so ...

Buy your game legitimately, then hop over to gamecopyworld for DRM free executables. Replace the game's official exe with the one you download, then move the game folder out of the Steam\SteamApps\common folder to wherever you want it and run the game from there.

You can then uninstall Steam altogether and play the game the way it should be played without any crap 3rd party software

Ok just a few things.

1. Piracy is not theft - it's copyright infringement and there is a notable difference. Theft is the permanent taking of an object so it can no longer be sold or used by the original owner. Copyright infringement copies the same file and any losses are EXPECTATION of loss. There is a distinction.

2. So you don't endorse piracy but then you tell someone to download a pirated and modified game from a legally dubious site? The fact is if you download a pirated game - whether or not you have purchased the original game, then you are endorsing and supporting piracy. Just the fact of visiting the site and generating user stats and advertisement revenue should say all you need to know.

 

[Foxbat]

Isn't piracy theft of intellectual property?
http://law.jrank.org/pages/11992/Cyber-Crime-Intellectual-property-theft.html

 

[Brian G Turner]

I think it's best to move away from the discussion of online piracy - I'm sure we have old debate threads for that - and better to get back on topic to computer games that run outside of Steam.

 

[SilentRoamer]

Isn't piracy theft of intellectual property?
http://law.jrank.org/pages/11992/Cyber-Crime-Intellectual-property-theft.html

It would be if you were selling the IP as your own, claiming ownership of the IP. That is not what happens with online piracy.

Anyaway as Brian said I divulged the topic so I apologise and won't say anymore in this thread

GOG is a decent repository.

Sony has a service called Playstation Now where you can play "Classics" on the PS4. PS3 games are not classics!

 

[Foxbat]

GOG is having one of its regular sales right now. Loads of stuff going cheap (and DRM free)